The Prince of Astoria-Chapter 77: LXXVII - EMIL JACQUET DROZ

Etienne stepped off the bus and glanced at the group of teenagers that stood before him, still clutching their heads and shaking in fear. He looked away from them and scurried down the sidewalk.

Jay stared at Etienne as he walked off. He turned to Landon and pointed at him, "You see that guy, right? He was sitting right behind us when everybody started going crazy and getting scared. When I looked over at him, he was already staring at me. Who do you think..."

Landon frowned and looked down at his phone, "You’re overthinking it dude. It was just some nosy old man. Come on, we still need to figure out what’s going on with these guys."

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"If only all my problems were that easy to solve," Etienne thought to himself.

He trudged across the poorly maintained sidewalks of the small town, tall grass growing through the numerous cracks in them. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a large map with lines drawn on it. Etienne brought it up to his eye.

"Jacquet Droz’s shop, The Meticula, is right outside of Downtown Bend..." Etienne thought to himself.

Etienne stuffed the map back into his pocket and looked around the area.

"I don’t think I’ve ever been here before. I remember my parents calling Bend ’the boonies’ when I was a kid."

Etienne looked beyond the city line and spotted humongous juniper trees stretching across the landscape, standing taller than the buildings.

As he continued to walk, he caught the scent of trees wafting through the air, and animals chirping and scurrying loudly in every direction.

"I’m surprised someone as prestigious as Emil Jacquet-Droz is based in a place as...country as this."

Etienne stopped suddenly in front of a featureless, blank, grey building. The bricks were old and chipped, and there was no signage, only a simple wooden door.

"This is the place. I guess Jacquet Droz is more humble than I thought, yet he still makes people travel to him for an in-person interview before he’ll make anything for them. I wonder what kind of person he really is..."

Etienne entered the building hesitantly and nearly tripped. He looked down and spotted many discarded weapons on the ground, all of which fell from a nearby rack full of even more weapons. On the walls of the workshop, from top to bottom, were various tools and fasteners of all shapes and sizes.

Etienne walked over the weapons on the ground and stalked toward the middle of the room.

Along the back wall of the shop were various unique weapons sitting on a row of cabinets, all in various states of completion. And in the middle of the room was a portly older dark skin man with a welding mask on, using a blowtorch on a long piece of steel on top of his anvil. He wore a long black apron with scorch marks on it that scraped the floor.

The old man turned around on his raggedy, tattered old stool and spoke, not bothering to pull up his broken welding mask, "Are you lost, boy?"

The man’s voice was decidedly southern and authoritative.

Etienne stepped up, "I’m looking for Emil Jacquet-Droz. That’s you, right?"

The old man pulled his mask up and revealed an older man with rugged features and a wild, unkempt beard, "Who are you? And why are you looking for Emil Jacquet-Droz?"

Etienne sighed, "My name is...well, my hero name is Ninjaman. I had an appointment scheduled for today. I need a very specific weapon, and I’m hoping you...excuse me, I’m hoping Jacquet-Droz will be able to make it."

The old man nodded his head and turned back to his work, "I’m just yanking your chain, Ninjaman. I know exactly who you are. Just like I’m sure you already know, I am Emil Jacquet-Droz. I’ve been expecting you. Some of my friends at the INHO told me about your recent...exploits, so I wanted to see if you’d tell the truth."

Jacquet-Droz lifted an ornate black hammer with gold accents and slammed it into the glowing orange hunk of metal on his anvil.

"I serve all people, from all sorts of walks of life, but the one type of person I’ll never serve is a liar. I have zero tolerance for lies. Now tell me, what kind of weapon are you looking for?"

Etienne paused for a second and rubbed his chin, "It may sound strange, but I need a reverse-edged katana."

"A...reverse edged katana?" Jacquet Droz repeated it, almost mockingly, as he continued to strike the long piece of steel, "As in, the edge is on the back of the sword instead of the front? Is that some kind of joke weapon? How could that possibly be better or more useful than a regular katana?"

Etienne frowned and crossed his arms, "I never said it was. I just said that’s what I want. I’m used to it, and I promise, in my hands it’s far more useful than a regular katana."

Jacquet Droz let out a long, exasperated sigh, "Okay. I can make your novelty weapon. But first, I need to know what you’re going to use it for."

Etienne kept his eyes focused on Jacquet Droz as the man continued to work, "I told you, I’m a hero—"

"That’s strike one," Jacquet Droz cut him off abruptly, "I told you, my friends at the INHO told me every gritty detail about your recent exploits. Including your spat with Senshi Sentinel. And the way you threatened Director Isatou right after. I heard you even put a knife to her throat and gave it a speech about no longer being a hero."

Jacquet Droz stood up, hammer still in hand, and got into Etienne’s face.

"You have one more chance to tell me what you plan to use my things for. I will not ask you again."

Etienne snarled, "Fine, you really want to know. I need it for my revenge. Is that the truth you wanted to hear?"

Without thinking, Etienne yanked off the medical face mask concealing his face, and bared his furious features at Jacquet-Droz.

"I want to take revenge for my family. And I want to protect the town they held so dearly and preserve what’s left of their legacy."

For the first time, Jacquet-Droz’s stoic expression shifted, and he stared at Etienne in awe, "I’m no hero, but I don’t think you’re supposed to reveal your secret identity to strangers. Especially when you’re as famous as you are."

Etienne shook his head and looked away from him, "You wanted the truth, right? I won’t hide behind a mask then, this is who I truly am."

Jacquet-Droz circled Etienne and looked him up and down, "I heard some crackpot theories, but I never would’ve guessed they were actually true. The Prince of Astoria is the elusive Ninjaman."

Jacques-Droz chuckled, "You know, the only reason this shop exists is because of a subsidy for small businesses your parents fought for about a decade ago. And now their son is here, asking for my weapons. Isn’t the world strange?"

Etienne slipped the medical mask back on, "I told you the truth just like you asked. So will you help me?"

Jacquet-Droz sucked his teeth and plopped back down on his stool, "Unfortunately, I can’t. I vowed to only make weapons to help people and make the world a better place. Never for personal gain, and never for revenge or retribution. I can’t make an exception to that, not even for you, prince."

Etienne sighed and turned towards the door. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Hold on, kid!" Jacquet-Droz called out to him.

Etienne turned around as Jacquet-Droz stood up, pulling a pen and a scrap of paper out of the pockets of his apron, "Write your address down. I have a gift for Ninjaman...or the Prince of Astoria. I’m not sure which one you prefer more. It won’t be the weapon you’re asking for, but I’m sure it’ll be useful. And don’t worry, it’s on the house."

Etienne held the paper in his hand and scribbled on it, "A gift? Are you sure?"

Jacquet Droz grabbed the pen and paper back from him when he finished writing and slipped it back into his apron pocket, "When you do right by people, they’ll want to do right by you. Remember that during your revenge quest."

Etienne opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he felt his phone ring in his pocket. He pulled the simple flip phone out of his pocket and answered the call as he stepped outside of the shop.

"What’s up, Gabe?" Etienne asked nonchalantly.

"Did you make it to Jacquet Droz already?"

Etienne leaned against the outside of the building, "Yeah, not too long ago. He’s a little strict, but he’s a nice guy overall. And he’s a big fan of my parents."

"Did he start making you a weapon already?" Gabe questioned.

"No. He said...he’s not able to," Etienne lied.

"I’m sorry to hear that Eti, that sucks. But it may not be as big a deal as you think. Something strange just arrived at the house and...I think you need to see it. Like, as soon as possible. You’re still at the Meticula, right?"

"Yeah..." Etienne responding, dragging out the word.

"Stay in that area. I’m going to take one of the cars and pick you up. I should be there in about four hours."